As a yoga teacher one of the things I always found difficult to admit to was that I had never really got to grips with meditation. Maybe it was the environments I typically found myself practicing and teaching that this aspect of yoga was neglected in favour of asana (physical movement). So this was one of my goals while away on my adventure, to see if I was able to experience the elusive (to me!) benefits we all hear about.
Any meditation I had tried up until this point had been a few minutes at the beginning or end of class, so had not had time to become too uncomfortable. So there I was imagining I looked like a pro, hands in gyan mudra, face muscles relaxed, long spine perfectly stacked. And as I took the obligatory deep breath (yep, right down into my belly)……..all kinds of thoughts came pouring like a waterfall into my mind. I think Buddha may have had me in mind when talking about our minds being like a tribe of chattering monkeys!
Using a meditation cushion was a game changer for me. Allowing just the right amount of elevation for your hips allowing them to roll forward, letting the knees lower, allowing the lower back to release any stress. After your lower back relaxes, the spine aligns back to the correct position and the entire body follows. With a bit of practice and my meditation cushion I eventually learned to sit in stillness, losing all sense of time and my long to-do list. I’m hooked and now I truly understand what it meditation does for our well being and peace of mind in this whirlwind life. I can’t say since I came home I have been able to devote the time I would like to meditate but I do still do as much as I can.
